Santos Born in
Santos, São Paulo, Emerson played in
Santos' youth team making his first team debut on 17 April 2011, coming on as a late
substitute for
Keirrison in a 3–0
Campeonato Paulista home win against
Paulista. His first start occurred on 21 January 2012, in a 1–1 away draw against
XV de Piracicaba. In February, he returned to the youth team, but he was called up to the match against
Mogi Mirim in the following month. He also appeared against
Ituano and
Paulista, as the club was crowned champions of
Paulistão for the third consecutive time. On 17 June, Emerson made his
Série A debut, in a 0–1 defeat against
Flamengo. He scored his first goal on 5 September 2013, but in a 1–2 loss at
Atlético Paranaense.
Palermo (loan) On 25 August 2014, Emerson was loaned to
Serie A's
Palermo, with a buyout clause. He made his debut in the competition on 24 September, coming on as a second half
substitute for
Fabio Daprelà in a 3–3 away draw against
Napoli. Emerson played nine league matches for the club, being mainly a backup to another new signing,
Achraf Lazaar.
Roma On 31 August 2015, Emerson joined fellow league team
Roma, on loan for one year. A second-choice behind
Lucas Digne, he made his debut for the club on 4 October in a 4–2 away win against former side Palermo. Emerson scored his first goal in the top league of Italian football on 14 May 2016, in a 3–1 away win against
Milan; after replacing
Stephan El Shaarawy in the 78th minute, he netted his team's third after a rebound. His loan was extended for a further season on 7 July. On 5 December 2016, after reaching 12 matches during
the campaign, Emerson was bought outright for a reported fee of €2 million. Emerson missed much of the first half of the
2017–18 season due to an
anterior cruciate ligament injury that he suffered in May 2017. He made his comeback on 1 December 2017, coming off the bench in the last 15 minutes of the match against
SPAL for the Serie A, which turned out as his sole appearance for Roma during that season.
Chelsea in 2018 On 30 January 2018, Emerson joined English side
Chelsea on a four-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. According to Roma, the transfer fee was €20 million plus €9 million bonus. He made his debut against
Hull City in the fifth round of the
FA Cup, assisting fellow January signing
Olivier Giroud for his first Chelsea goal. The Blues came out 4–0 winners at
Stamford Bridge. Emerson made his
Premier League debut on 4 March 2018 as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 defeat at
Manchester City. His first Premier League start came away to
Burnley on 19 April. Emerson set up
Victor Moses for the winning goal as Chelsea claimed a 2–1 victory. Chelsea went on to win the
2017–18 FA Cup but Emerson was injured and missed the
final. On 26 September 2018, in his first appearance of the
2018–19 season, Emerson scored his first goal for Chelsea, the equaliser in an eventual 2–1 away win against
Liverpool, in the third round of the
EFL Cup. On 24 February 2019, he started for Chelsea in the
2019 EFL Cup Final on, and was one of the three Chelsea players to convert their spot kicks in the resulting shoot-out following a 0–0 draw after extra-time; however, Manchester City ultimately prevailed 4–3. On 29 May, he assisted
Olivier Giroud's opening goal in a 4–1 win over
Arsenal in the
2019 UEFA Europa League Final. Emerson was part of the Chelsea squad which won the
2021 UEFA Champions League Final 1–0 against
Manchester City, however did not come off the bench in the match.
Lyon (loan) On 19 August 2021, Emerson joined
Ligue 1 side
Lyon on a one-year loan.
West Ham United On 23 August 2022, Emerson joined
Premier League side
West Ham United on a four-year contract with a one-year option for an undisclosed fee from fellow Premier League club Chelsea. He made his debut on 28 August in a 1–0 away win against
Aston Villa playing the first half as a
wing-back before being replaced at half-time by
Saïd Benrahma. His first goal for West Ham came on 11 February 2023, in a 1–1 draw at the
London Stadium against his former club Chelsea. Bundling-in a cross from
Jarrod Bowen, Emerson's goal equalised an early opening goal for Chelsea's
João Félix. On 7 June 2023, Emerson became the first ever player to win each of the four modern UEFA club competitions (
Champions League,
Europa League,
Europa Conference League,
Super Cup) as well as the
UEFA European Championship, playing all 90 minutes as West Ham defeated
Fiorentina in the
2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final. He played 113 games for West Ham before being transferred in September 2025. ==International career==